While eating and drinking, test your love of Ireland with this Irish trivia quiz.

Hold a limerick writing contest

For those unfamiliar with the format of a limerick, give people an example to begin with.

Then let everyone write away, with Ireland, St Patrick’s Day, Ireland or the color green as topics to choose from.

Here’s an example from Edward Lear –

“There was an Old Man of Kilkenny,

Who never had more than a penny;

He spent all that money,

In onions and honey,

That wayward Old Man of Kilkenny.”

Limerick contests go great with a few beers. To increase the fun, throw a speed limerick writing competition, where players get only 60 seconds to write.

Have an Irish song singalong

You’ll need a guitar and guitar player for these St Patricks Day party ideas. Choose from traditional Irish songs like ‘Cockles and Mussels’. Example lyric: “Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!”

Or choose Irish drinking songs, like ‘Finnegans Wake’ “A bottle of whiskey at his feet and a barrel of porter at his head”.

Hold a real snake

Treat everyone to a go, by finding your nearest reptile house and asking them if they do visitor activities like this. You’ll need to organize this in advance, so you can be snake charming on St Patricks Day itself.

As the St Patricks Day story goes, it was told that Saint Patrick banished all snakes from Ireland. Here you’ll be embracing snakes instead.

Throw an Irish disco

Combine your food and drinks, with a dancefloor playlist you’ll make, comprised of modern and classic Irish music. Making your own dance list means you can add more quirky touches.

Include such Irish musicians as Sinead O’Connor, Westlife, The Dubliners and U2.

Have a pub crawl – with a twist

That twist being, everyone needing to incorporate a symbol of St Patricks Day into their clothing to join the crawl. This can require creative thinking. For example:

Wearing a snake badge or dressing in an all-green outfit. Carry a bag full of cornbeef and cabbage to hand out to passers by; foods are enjoyed on St Patrick’s Day.

Start your pub crawl off at your nearest Irish pub. No St Patricks Day party ideas are complete without it. Or without:

Real Irish dancing

Treat your friends to an introductory experience. If your budget can stretch, hire in an instructor or treat everyone to a class. Check out this video: